I'm very jealous. Did you get a chance to run any 2-person 0-60 times. How about handling.... understeer, neutral ? Details, Man, details!

Cheers * Ciao

I didn't do any timing - the good folks at Chrysler took care of that. O-60mph in 7.2 sec , 15.5 sec 1/4 mile. The car runs strong, especially in Sport :):):) Pulls and pulls, you notice it around 4,000 rpm and it goes like hell. Understeer in spirited street driving is not really noticeable. Ultimately 64% of weight in the front will lead to understeer, however the limits are very high and you'll be going VERY fast. The chassis feels very tight and I didn't notice any bad habits. No snap oversteer on trailing throttle, etc., but I did have partial ESP on.

If you watch the video, I wasn't going full out, but trying to learn the track and get the feel of the car, the steering and judge where the limits were (as people had gone off the track). If you go to 4:50 sec, 8:40 and 12:09, you'll see I just crank the wheel over in this down hill tight corner, I don't dial in any more lock and the car doesn't really run wide. I also got hard on the gas and you can here the engine rev up as I got wheelspin, TTC coming into play here.

My Italian isn't very good. I actually grew up in a predominantly Scottish/ English household. LOL

sjmst

03-10-2012, 09:41 AM

Chris, great write up, thanks. So I want an Abarth too. The thought of losing so much money on my Prima is tough, but I can live with that if the Abarth is that much better.

Having now driven both the Sport and Abarth, would you say that ruined the Sport for you? For example, I recently drove a Ferrari 355, and of course it was fast and fun. Still, when I got back in my Prima, I still loved it for what it was.

Could it be the same for Abarth vs Sport? Two different cars, but fun in their own way?

geeded

03-10-2012, 04:58 PM

I didn't do any timing - the good folks at Chrysler took care of that. O-60mph in 7.2 sec , 15.5 sec 1/4 mile. The car runs strong, especially in Sport :):):) Pulls and pulls, you notice it around 4,000 rpm and it goes like hell. Understeer in spirited street driving is not really noticeable. Ultimately 64% of weight in the front will lead to understeer, however the limits are very high and you'll be going VERY fast. The chassis feels very tight and I didn't notice any bad habits. No snap oversteer on trailing throttle, etc., but I did have partial ESP on.

If you watch the video, I wasn't going full out, but trying to learn the track and get the feel of the car, the steering and judge where the limits were (as people had gone off the track). If you go to 4:50 sec, 8:40 and 12:09, you'll see I just crank the wheel over in this down hill tight corner, I don't dial in any more lock and the car doesn't really run wide. I also got hard on the gas and you can here the engine rev up as I got wheelspin, TTC coming into play here.

Thanks Chris. You answered my questions and for that I am grateful.

Cheers

rtwolfe

03-10-2012, 06:29 PM

...

If you watch the video, I wasn't going full out, but trying to learn the track and get the feel of the car, the steering and judge where the limits were (as people had gone off the track). If you go to 4:50 sec, 8:40 and 12:09, you'll see I just crank the wheel over in this down hill tight corner, I don't dial in any more lock and the car doesn't really run wide. I also got hard on the gas and you can here the engine rev up as I got wheelspin, TTC coming into play here.

I didn't realize you had a 15 minute video included further down in the review. Very cool. But what was with the pink wrist bands... Fiat still have some J-Lo stuff going on? Grin. Love the sound when you rev the engine. Thanks again Chris for all the time and effort you spend doing things like this.

Ciao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZU2urnIjpk&

Jeepnut

03-10-2012, 07:56 PM

Love the exhaust note under acceleration!

Fiat500USA

03-10-2012, 08:11 PM

Chris, great write up, thanks. So I want an Abarth too. The thought of losing so much money on my Prima is tough, but I can live with that if the Abarth is that much better.

Having now driven both the Sport and Abarth, would you say that ruined the Sport for you? For example, I recently drove a Ferrari 355, and of course it was fast and fun. Still, when I got back in my Prima, I still loved it for what it was.

Could it be the same for Abarth vs Sport? Two different cars, but fun in their own way?

This is a tough choice for me because I really like my Prima. It is relaxing and fun to drive. I like that you can drive it hard and it takes a little while before you can get into serious trouble. The classic 'fun to drive a slow car fast' concept. The Abarth is more intense. People will not look and say it is just a cute little car, I had guys in a pick up truck follow me to check it out and people pointing at lights. The car can leave them in the dust, in the wake of the of the exhaust, if you so care to. Telling folks the car has 170 lbs-ft of torque is a totally different conversation than "how much MPG?"

There are some trade offs; it is louder so you need to be OK with that, rear visibility is reduced somewhat because of the one piece seat backs and you'll lose the ability to shoot for 50 mpg! LOL

Summed up, I'd say the car is aggressive, angry and intense and ready to kick someone's butt if you piss it off. If you want a car like that, you will not be disappointed.

janaheim

03-10-2012, 08:39 PM

My Italian isn't very good. I actually grew up in a predominantly Scottish/ English household. LOL

Che tipo fortunato!

Lucky is "fortunato". A lucky person in Italian is "Una persona fortunata", a lucky man is "un uomo fortunato" & a lucky woman is "una donna fortunata". However, the best way to say a lucky stiff would be "Un tipo fortunato". Tipo in English is man, guy, fellow or stiff.

Ciao

Fiat500USA

03-10-2012, 08:41 PM

I didn't realize you had a 15 minute video included further down in the review. Very cool. But what was with the pink wrist bands... Fiat still have some J-Lo stuff going on? Grin. Love the sound when you rev the engine. Thanks again Chris for all the time and effort you spend doing things like this.

Ciao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZU2urnIjpk&

Glad you enjoyed it. Seriously, the only thing missing was J-Lo! LOL There were two wrist bands issued. The pink was to ID you as a participant and a yellow one showed that you went through Track Orientation and Safety with Dan Fry, lead Abarth development engineer. Dan Fry is a very talented individual and has a lot of experience with chassis dynamics and ESP developing.

http://youtu.be/lGOVTxAiQtI

janaheim

03-10-2012, 08:42 PM

Just like geeded, i am extremely jealous but also grateful for the details you included in the post. How do you say 'lucky stiff' in Italian.

Ciao

Che tipo fortunato!

Lucky is "fortunato". A lucky person in Italian is "Una persona fortunata", a lucky man is "un uomo fortunato" & a lucky woman is "una donna fortunata". However, the best way to say a lucky stiff would be "Un tipo fortunato". Tipo in English is man, guy, fellow or stiff.

Ciao

Piccirillo

03-11-2012, 02:09 AM

Love it! saw it at the Fort Lauderdale Auto Show...I just sat in that cockpit and felt like I belong there or she belongs to me!

White for me please! thank you!

txdesign

03-11-2012, 05:59 PM

There is a lot of wheel gap with the 16" wheel-those 17" wheels fill out the openings a lot better. I think the White/Red combo is beautiful but I am somewhat drawn to the stealth look of the Dark Grey/Red version.

sjmst

03-12-2012, 03:12 PM

This is a tough choice for me because I really like my Prima. It is relaxing and fun to drive. I like that you can drive it hard and it takes a little while before you can get into serious trouble. The classic 'fun to drive a slow car fast' concept. The Abarth is more intense. People will not look and say it is just a cute little car, I had guys in a pick up truck follow me to check it out and people pointing at lights. The car can leave them in the dust, in the wake of the of the exhaust, if you so care to. Telling folks the car has 170 lbs-ft of torque is a totally different conversation than "how much MPG?"

There are some trade offs; it is louder so you need to be OK with that, rear visibility is reduced somewhat because of the one piece seat backs and you'll lose the ability to shoot for 50 mpg! LOL

Summed up, I'd say the car is aggressive, angry and intense and ready to kick someone's butt if you piss it off. If you want a car like that, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks, Chris. I was wondering if you had a chance to compare the ride of the car with 16" vs 17" wheels.
Holding off on the 17" wheel option would save a 1000 bucks...

Fiat500USA

03-16-2012, 02:24 AM

Thanks, Chris. I was wondering if you had a chance to compare the ride of the car with 16" vs 17" wheels.
Holding off on the 17" wheel option would save a 1000 bucks...

Hi Sam,

I did. The car with 16 inch wheels rides a little softer, but not by much. It's the same difference in my Prima and probably the others cars here on the forum. I'm torn about 17 inch option, but $1,000 for wheels and tires are a really good deal. I think I paid $1,200 for my set up and I have Yokohama tires and not pZero Neros.

MADNESSMIKE

03-16-2012, 03:11 PM

Great read thanks for posting it and those are some amazing pictures

DCAbarth

03-16-2012, 10:55 PM

Hi Sam,

I did. The car with 16 inch wheels rides a little softer, but not by much. It's the same difference in my Prima and probably the others cars here on the forum. I'm torn about 17 inch option, but $1,000 for wheels and tires are a really good deal. I think I paid $1,200 for my set up and I have Yokohama tires and not pZero Neros.

1k gets you a set of upgraded 17s, yes, but since you don't get to keep the standard 16s, it would make sense to keep the standard 16s and pay 1200 elsewhere for a set of 17s... Then you'd have a set of each and really only pay 200 out of pocket + the grand that would have been used to upgrade to FIAT's upgrade.

It's been a long day, I hope that makes sense! :))

Fiat500USA

03-16-2012, 11:58 PM

1k gets you a set of upgraded 17s, yes, but since you don't get to keep the standard 16s, it would make sense to keep the standard 16s and pay 1200 elsewhere for a set of 17s... Then you'd have a set of each and really only pay 200 out of pocket + the grand that would have been used to upgrade to FIAT's upgrade.

It's been a long day, I hope that makes sense! :))

That's a good idea. Would have to stretch it a little as forged alloys are more money, but still a valid point.

DCAbarth

03-17-2012, 10:28 AM

THanks! I've also noticed in my online browsing for 17 rims, there are quite a few that look pretty close to the upgraded 17s that FIAT offers, but there's nothing even close to the standard 16 rims aftermarket. I really like the look of the 16 rims (plus they're all season tires, which helps me since I live in a condo in downtown DC, nowhere to store an extra set of tires... ohhh unless I make a glass top coffee table in the living room! lol) So back before my pre-order changed to a real order, I had opted to go back to the 16s... but I added the sunroof, so nearly a wash on the total cost :)

TimAllen

03-17-2012, 02:59 PM

Great review!! I am so excited for my Abarth! Decided to go for the 17's, they will look mean on a black and red Abarth

sjmst

03-26-2012, 11:52 AM

Hi Sam,

I did. The car with 16 inch wheels rides a little softer, but not by much. It's the same difference in my Prima and probably the others cars here on the forum. I'm torn about 17 inch option, but $1,000 for wheels and tires are a really good deal. I think I paid $1,200 for my set up and I have Yokohama tires and not pZero Neros.

Thanks. I'm with you, can't decide which way to go with the wheels.

MarkG

03-26-2012, 12:36 PM

1585Iam going with the 16 inch wheels with all season tires. My order is for Bianco with red mirror caps and side stripes my only option. The car will ge my daily driver.

speeddemon

03-28-2012, 11:46 PM

I really like those 17" rims, but here in the upper midwest, all season tires are a MUST. So it looks like I will have to go with the 16"s, but down the road I can get new ones if I really wanted to. Gotta love those scorpion center caps!

speeddemon

03-28-2012, 11:55 PM

I didn't do any timing - the good folks at Chrysler took care of that. O-60mph in 7.2 sec , 15.5 sec 1/4 mile. The car runs strong, especially in Sport :):):) Pulls and pulls, you notice it around 4,000 rpm and it goes like hell. Understeer in spirited street driving is not really noticeable. Ultimately 64% of weight in the front will lead to understeer, however the limits are very high and you'll be going VERY fast. The chassis feels very tight and I didn't notice any bad habits. No snap oversteer on trailing throttle, etc., but I did have partial ESP on.

If you watch the video, I wasn't going full out, but trying to learn the track and get the feel of the car, the steering and judge where the limits were (as people had gone off the track). If you go to 4:50 sec, 8:40 and 12:09, you'll see I just crank the wheel over in this down hill tight corner, I don't dial in any more lock and the car doesn't really run wide. I also got hard on the gas and you can here the engine rev up as I got wheelspin, TTC coming into play here.

I just learned to drive a manual this past summer, and while I understand the basics of it and don't have many issues, I still need to practice more. When driving the Abarth, how is the clutch feel? I sat in an Abarth at the Chicago Auto show, and the gearbox felt easy and smooth, not overly rubbery and such. Would you say this is a good car for a beginner manual driver like me?

For the record, I learned how to drive stick in my dad's 2006 Pontiac GTO before he traded it in...That car was pretty easy to drive.

Fiat500USA

05-04-2012, 05:40 PM

Chris,

I just learned to drive a manual this past summer, and while I understand the basics of it and don't have many issues, I still need to practice more. When driving the Abarth, how is the clutch feel? I sat in an Abarth at the Chicago Auto show, and the gearbox felt easy and smooth, not overly rubbery and such. Would you say this is a good car for a beginner manual driver like me?

For the record, I learned how to drive stick in my dad's 2006 Pontiac GTO before he traded it in...That car was pretty easy to drive.
'
I would say the clutch was easy. I've driven a lot of cars with stiff clutches so the soft clutch is a nice break for me.

johniew398

05-06-2012, 08:44 PM

I would love to take my Abarth on that track Spring Mountain. I have all the corners memorized since I spent two days on that track in a ZR1.

AudiGuy

02-02-2014, 10:36 PM

The clutch in the abarth is one of the lightest I've felt.

krayzielilsmoki

02-02-2014, 11:09 PM

The clutch in the abarth is one of the lightest I've felt.

Thats the exact same thought I had when I first got the car, but it does progressively get better. Maybe my leg is forgetting the racing clutches from the past but I think the clutch feels pretty good right now.